


Something to Hold On To

by Rcw99



Series: Things To Hold On To [14]
Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-12-23 20:05:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21087050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rcw99/pseuds/Rcw99
Summary: It’s been two years since that night in the woods.Mae and Bea finally get to go putt-putt golfing in Hunwick.It’s something, at least.





	Something to Hold On To

Margaret Borowski took a glance at the clock up on the wall. 

08:53 PM was what it said.

Almost closing time.

She sighed and leaned her head on the counter, staring vacantly out at the aisles of tools, nails, and other hardware accessories. She had spent the last hour cleaning the store and making sure that everything was where it should be—which included making sure that all the different sizes of screws were in their proper drawers.

It wasn’t something she would normally ever do, but she was bored out of her mind and needed something to occupy her time, however mundane it was. The Ol’ Pickaxe hadn’t seen a customer in over three hours and Mae’s patience had grown thin.

Mae looked back at the clock.

08:53 PM.

“Ugh,” she groaned and leaned back in the stained office chair she was sitting in. It creaked ominously as she swiveled around, threatening to snap in half if she wasn’t careful. Bea would definitely be upset if she broke the only chair in the store.

“Screw this,” she muttered under her breath. “No one’s coming by at nine at night for a hardware emergency.”

She stood up and pushed the chair under the desk and flipped off the main light switch. The store plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the red glowing EXIT sign above the door.

For a brief moment, she hesitated. What if there was someone that had an emergency and desperately needed something from the store? That wasn’t fair to them if she closed up even a little bit early!

Mae scowled and shook her head. That little responsible voice in her head was altogether too loud these days and sounded too much like Bea for her liking. Everything would be fine. She looked at the clock.

08:55 PM.

See? Five minutes before was much more reasonable than seven. No one would mind—least of all Mae, who couldn’t bear to be in the store any longer. She had woken up that afternoon with a migraine that never really went away, so she was eager to get back home and in bed.

Moving into the back area of the store, she grabbed her jacket from the hook in the back and fished the keys out of the pocket. Taking one last look around the place to make sure everything was in order before leaving, she slung her jacket over her shoulders and stepped outside.

It was hot outside. At least 70 degrees. It had been chilly that morning—hence why she brought her jacket. It was fall! Mae really didn’t know why it was so hot outside. It had snowed this time last year! “Stupid global warming…” she grumbled to herself. What she wouldn’t give for some cooler weather right about then.

She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that it was only as she turned around to lock the door behind her that she realized that someone was standing right around the corner, partially hidden in the shadows. Her heart leapt into her throat as she jerked away, ready to fight if need be.

“It’s just me, Mae.” Her Aunt Molly stepped out proper, an apologetic look splashed across her face. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Mae just sighed and moved back to the door to lock it properly. “What do you want?”

Molly grimaced. “I was just driving by and wanted to say hello. I knew you were getting off soon.”

“So you were creeping around the corner waiting to ambush me?”

Her aunt was silent for a moment. Mae finally finished locking the door and turned to face her, an eyebrow raised in question.

Their relationship had improved somewhat over the years. Mae had slowly become less antagonizing, though mostly at her mom’s insistence, and Molly had finally gotten that stick out of her ass, which was surprising considering she was now the Chief of Police. They watched hockey together sometimes and the two of them even planned Mae’s parents 50th birthday parties last year.

Still, that didn’t stop either of them from getting on the other’s nerves sometimes. Mae’s mom always said that they were too similar. Candy even once told Mae that Molly had spent the night in a jail cell when she was 17 for vandalism, but Mae wasn’t sure if she believed her.

Molly adjusted the cap on top of her head. “I was just waiting for you. Just wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Mae scowled and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets. “I’m only working the rest of my life away, just like everyone else. Or are you still worried I’m gonna steal everything and burn the place down?”

“Mae… I just…” Molly trailed off, unsure exactly how to continue.

They stood there for a moment, just looking at the other, neither saying anything. But Mae was anything but patient and this unwanted interaction had already gone on far too long. “Alright,” she said as she started to walk away, “Maybe come back tomorrow during the day when you ever figure out what to say.”

“Mae! Just hold on a second.” Molly followed after her niece, gently yanking her arm to stop her. Mae rolled her eyes and turned around.

“What?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were alright.” Molly hesitated. “It’s—It’s been two years today and I wanted to see how you were holding up.”

Her words hit Mae like a ton of bricks and the simmering annoyance she’d felt burned away in an instant.

Had it really been that long? Mae hadn’t even realized. She’d been so busy with things that the day had arrived without her even noticing. And, maybe there was a large part of her that had been deliberately ignoring the approaching date. If her parents or Bea had realized, they had kept it to themselves.

It had been two years since that fateful night in the woods. Two years since everything changed. Two years since her life and the lives of everyone in Possum Springs had gotten turned upside down.

And how _was_ she holding up these days?

Well, for starters, her life wasn’t all that aimless anymore. She had gotten a job she actually enjoyed somewhat and then gotten fired nine months later because of some bullshit. After that, she ended up nagging Bea enough that she let her do some under-the-table work at Ol’ Pickaxe.

Things were good for a while after that. Mae was happy, Bea appreciated the help around the store, and the extra money and lack of college tuition meant that her parents managed to keep the house. Little by little, life in Possum Springs returned to normal and Mae was probably the best she’d ever been her whole life.

As 2019 began and business at the store started to pick up a bit, Bea actually hired her on officially. She would help keep the store tidy and assist customers when she went out on jobs, which was rare now that her dad was back to doing repair work. It wasn’t glamorous by any means and was only really fun when Bea was around to joke with and annoy, but it was something to pass the day and help pay her family’s mortgage. Her dad called it “character-building,” which Mae hated the sound of and almost wanted to quit out of spite.

That said, she did keep searching for other jobs, just in case there was something else she found more interesting. She had really wanted a job at the taco place that had opened up, but there were never any positions available—or, maybe, no one else wanted to hire Mae Borowski. So, she stayed on at the Pickaxe for the time being, spending her golden years selling hardware supplies to old men who didn’t realize the internet was a thing.

Honestly, her goal was to win the lottery and never have to work another day in her life. The only obstacle to that was that she never actually bought any lottery tickets. 

But that was how she spent her days for the better part of the year. She somehow managed to drag herself out of bed at a normal time, trudge down to the Pickaxe after about five cups of coffee, and basically did whatever Bea wanted her to do that day, with only a minimal amount of complaining involved. It was a far cry from how her days used to go. As expected, Bea could be a real slave driver sometimes and didn’t go easy on her. They had clashed a little bit in the beginning, but both of their expectations about the other tapered over time and everything turned out okay.

In fact, things turned out even better than okay. By August, Bea felt that Mae was doing a good enough job that she got a promotion. Bea actually entrusted her to work alone in the store in the evenings, though she said it was mostly so that she wasn’t pulling 14-16 hour shifts every day anymore. She either somehow either convinced her dad to let Mae have more responsibility or just didn’t tell him in the first place. Either way, Mae was left alone in the Ol’ Pickaxe by herself from the hours of 3 PM to 9 PM to actually run the store, answer the phone, and make sales. Apparently 32 hours a week was fulltime?

It was scary at first, having that sort of responsibility, but there was some other feeling that Mae hadn’t anticipated. She felt…proud? Bea trusted her enough to watch over the store and Mae actually wanted to not screw everything up and tried really hard to succeed for once.

And now it was November, and there may have been a few bumps in the road, but Mae hadn’t failed yet. She made Bea—and her parents—proud, and that was a feeling Mae didn’t know she liked so much. She’d been aimless most of her life, even with college, so it was nice to have some direction to go in.

But the one thing Mae was really glad about, was that she hadn’t had another mental breakdown in over a year and a half. Things were finally returning to normalcy. No more anxiety nightmare or dissociative episodes and no more…ghosts.

Mae looked up at her Aunt Molly and breathed out, feeling that ball of nerves inside her unravel. 

“I’m okay.” She smiled. “Things are going okay.”

Molly studied Mae’s face for a moment before nodding gently. “Okay,” she said breathlessly, “I’m glad.” And then, after a pause. “I know I haven’t been around a whole lot lately, but I want you to know that I’m proud of you, Mae.”

“Thanks. I am pretty awesome, aren’t I?”

“Okay,” she chuckled, “Don’t let it go to your head now. I’m just saying you’ve handled things a lot better than I would’ve at your age. Both you and your friends. I know you guys say you’re fine, but if you ever want to talk about it, I’m always open, okay?”

“I don’t…”

“I mean it.” She pulled Mae into a hug. “You and your friends went through a lot two years ago and almost no one knows. You don’t have to deal with it alone.”

Mae sighed and stuck her hands in her pockets, rocking back on her heels. “Okay, okay. I’ll think about it.”

“I hope you do.” Molly stepped over to her police car that was parked right out front. Mae wasn’t sure how she missed it when she first walked out. “Now, can I drive you home?”

“Nah. You know me. I like to walk”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. It’s not far. I’m used to it.”

“Alright.” Molly unlocked her car and opened the door. “I’ll see you later then, okay? Love you.”

“Love you too, Aunt Molly.”

And with that, Mae turned and began the walk back home. She couldn’t wait to get back and get to sleep. Partly because she still had a migraine, but mostly because she had a big day planned for tomorrow and she couldn’t wait for it to start. She and Bea were _finally_ going to go Putt-Putt golfing out in Hunwick!

Mae just knew that everything was going to be perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> It's the beginning of the end.


End file.
